Aishah Alreshoud Weekend Thoughts Time of Change and Improvement
The various texts we have studied so far in this class show how the nineteenth century was an age of improvement and change politically, socially, and economically. Almost all of the texts that we have read deal with common themes such as slavery, poverty, love, marriage, politics, and religion. In Corinne, Or Italy, for example, De Stael discusses attitudes towards love and marriage. Similarly, in Mansfield Park, Jane Austen talks about the same theme. Towards the end of her novel, she shows that marriage is actually based on love, not on mutual interest. Fanny who is coming from a poor family ends up with Edmond, son of a more prestigious and wealthier family. In addition, Austen touches on the subject of slavery when Fanny asks Sir Thomas about his opinion about owning slaves. Elizabeth Barrett Browning discusses slavery in poems like “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point”. Furthermore, Mansfield Park discusses improving economic and social conditions not only through taking Fanny from her poor family, educating her and helping her climb the social ladder, but also through the hints to colonialism. It is hinted throughout the novel that Sir Thomas owns property in Antigua. Noteworthy, Colonialism to the British means wealth and economic prosperity because it brought natural resources, cheap labor, and new lands to the British Empire.
Moreover, the fact that we have so many women writers and poets who discuss serious matters that affect their society is evident of the dramatic change during the century. Women writers and poets not only succeeded in making their voice heard, but also participated in discussing topics that previously were dominated by men affected the nation in the domestic and the public spheres.
Weekend Thoughts
Time of Change and Improvement
The various texts we have studied so far in this class show how the nineteenth century was an age of improvement and change politically, socially, and economically. Almost all of the texts that we have read deal with common themes such as slavery, poverty, love, marriage, politics, and religion. In Corinne, Or Italy, for example, De Stael discusses attitudes towards love and marriage. Similarly, in Mansfield Park, Jane Austen talks about the same theme. Towards the end of her novel, she shows that marriage is actually based on love, not on mutual interest. Fanny who is coming from a poor family ends up with Edmond, son of a more prestigious and wealthier family. In addition, Austen touches on the subject of slavery when Fanny asks Sir Thomas about his opinion about owning slaves. Elizabeth Barrett Browning discusses slavery in poems like “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point”. Furthermore, Mansfield Park discusses improving economic and social conditions not only through taking Fanny from her poor family, educating her and helping her climb the social ladder, but also through the hints to colonialism. It is hinted throughout the novel that Sir Thomas owns property in Antigua. Noteworthy, Colonialism to the British means wealth and economic prosperity because it brought natural resources, cheap labor, and new lands to the British Empire.
Moreover, the fact that we have so many women writers and poets who discuss serious matters that affect their society is evident of the dramatic change during the century. Women writers and poets not only succeeded in making their voice heard, but also participated in discussing topics that previously were dominated by men affected the nation in the domestic and the public spheres.